The Between the Lions Digital Den.

Sirius Thinking, Ltd., the creative producer of the award-winning children’s educational television series Between the Lions, is proposing a feasibility study of a prototype of a multiple-media early literacy educational tool. This computer-based product, “The Between the Lions Digital Reading Den,” will allow early readers to navigate a user-friendly computer interface to select interactive content from a range of BTL-related modules. Each clearly-identified module will contain entertaining and inviting content such as word games, songs, music videos, interactive stories, and an audio/visual dictionary. The Den will also include an option for Spanish language support of many of the features. The literacy content of the Digital Den will be systematically organized around one selected episode of BTL and will be directly related to the curriculum focus of that episode. Feasibility of the Digital Reading Den will be measured through a mixed research design that includes observations of English-speaking and Spanish-speaking children and parents using the Den, individual interviews, multiple-choice assessments, and focus groups. Kindergarten and first grade children, and their parents, will engage with the Digital Den prototype over a 4-week period. The research study will attempt to gauge the feasibility of the Digital Den regarding three variables: appeal, comprehensibility, and usability.